The Autobots and their allies searched the dunes tirelessly. Right now, a team consisting of Sonic, Arthur, Cliffjumper, Shahra, and Goldbug trudged through the sands. Goldbug decided to call up Teletraan. “Hey, Teletraan,” he asked, “how big is Shamar?”
“9,000,000 square kilometers, Sir,” replied Teletraan.
“…Fine. …Hey, how’s Scattershot’s team behaving?”
“They’re doing all right. Just bored out of their skulls. How about you?”
“Still looking. We’ll keep you posted. Goldbug out.” He ended the call and they continued searching. “Primus, if we had a way to find the World Rings at once, we could make it so easy!” Cliffjumper then heard someone groan.
“Shahra?” he asked. Shahra came out of her ring with an expression on her face that indicated she just thought of something so simple and was kicking herself because she didn’t think about it earlier.
“What manner of pain be thou in?” asked Arthur.
“An aneurysm of sheer stupidity!” explained the genie. “The last time Sonic searched for the World Rings; I could have been used to sense where they were instead of just aimlessly wandering the pages of the Arabian Nights! It’s a wish within my power!”
“…I didn’t even think to ask about that!” groaned Sonic. “Shahra, I think we both missed an obvious opportunity! …Although, I always liked the journey instead of the destination, so, it wasn’t all THAT bad.”
“Sonic, the Erazor Djinn shot your heart with a fire arrow that would have ended your life if it ever went out,” reminded Shahra. “I would have thought speed was key back then.”
“Eh, I would have found a way around it.”
“Well, we’re pressed for time, and I want those World Rings OUT of Decepticon hands,” declared Cliffjumper. “Shahra, I wish for you to be able to sense where the Seven World Rings are!”
“As it is proclaimed, so shall it be!” called Shahra. She summoned a gold cloud, let it surround her, then it vanished. “And it works! Okay, so, the first World Ring is…just a minute…what? That doesn’t…I’m sensing all seven in one place!”
“What?” asked Cliffjumper.
“There’s gotta be a mistake,” muttered Sonic.
“I’m checking it over again and again, but it’s still the same reading.”
“Something doesn’t make sense here,” muttered Goldbug. “Either we’ve been looking in all the wrong places or…” a thought then struck their minds.
“Or this be a trap by the enemy,” Arthur voiced. Goldbug then called all teams.
“Everyone, be advised!” he called. “Shahra found all seven World Rings in one place! There’s a real good chance this is a trap by the enemy!”
“This is Optimus. Thanks for the heads up, Goldbug. We’ll converge and simply maintain distance from the Rings. All teams, we do NOT engage until the enemy moves in!”
Back at the base, Swoop and Ratchet looked over Chromia’s diagnostic reports. They didn’t feel any calmer at the reports. “Those hairline cracks are disturbing,” muttered Swoop. “Maybe we can weld them over?”
“It’s not going to work,” replied Ratchet. “We weld them over; we’ll have to replace her springs.”
“That’s practically an overhaul right there, a little-” a new diagnostic report then came in. Whatever it indicated made both medics gasp. “…Stage 5?! Around the Spark Chamber?!”
“We can’t do anything without Optimus knowing about it. Swoop, keep Chromia in stasis until Optimus gets back. She and Optimus need to know at the same time.” Swoop nodded as he altered the stasis inducers.
Scattershot and his team continued waiting at the base. Scattershot held the Enigma in his hands and just sat there, staring at it. “…What can I do?” he asked himself. “If they know all the details, they’ll worry unnecessarily about them!”
“Will we?” asked a voice. Scattershot looked over his shoulder to see Afterburner standing there.
“…Yeah, I’m sure you will!”
“Dude, did you ever consider this; perhaps us knowing all the details would help us support one another in our goals?”
“And where’d that theory come from? Nosecone?”
“Not so much a theory as it is a fact that Goldbug and Cliffjumper demonstrate every day. You know why Goldbug and Cliffjumper don’t look like they worry so much about one another? I asked Cliffjumper a while ago. It’s because they always communicate the plan to each other; the plan, any changes, all of it. The team moves a lot more fluidly and has a greater chance of success.” Scattershot’s optics then shot open as if he had an epiphany.
“That’s what Optimus was trying to tell me, and I still didn’t fully grasp it! I’m an idiot!”
“Well, I was an idiot too.” Afterburner lowered his head. “Pulling a gun out on you was out of line.”
“…Afterburner, you mind getting our brothers and meeting me in the command center? I need to apologize to you all.”
“…Sure.”
Scattershot and his team gathered at the conference table. They all sat down and Scattershot began. “Guys, it’s come to my attention that this team isn’t functioning all that well…and that’s because I’ve been hiding the details from you guys and thus exacerbating all the flaws withing the team. Afterburner, since you and I were the most confrontational when this all went down, I want to apologize for dismissing your anger as mere rage. Your anger is born of a desire to protect your team, is that right?” Afterburner was stunned.
“…Y-Yeah, I mean, you DID say we’re brothers, right? We all have to look out for each other.”
“And I dismissed it out of hand. That was wrong of me, and I’m sorry. Nosecone, you’re always looking for the most optimal solution to problems, am I right?”
“As a matter of fact, I am,” answered Nosecone.
“I arrogantly thought that was laziness. I’m sorry for even thinking that. Lightspeed, you always have questions on your mind that you feel need answering, yes? Something beyond the confines of gravity?”
“Of course. What’s life without some form of question on someone’s mind? I’ve always wanted to explore and soar through the stars, learning what I can!”
“When this war is over, I’ll see to it that you have that dream fulfilled. Strafe, you’re nervous that there’s something being hidden from you, right?”
“Of course! And your behavior exacerbated that problem!”
“Well, I won’t commit to that behavior anymore. Like Afterburner, I want to protect my brothers, but, from what Afterburner observed from Goldbug and Cliffjumper, I’m doing a crappy job by not communicating all the details. I clearly need help in that regard.”
“Hey, if you need it, I’m sure we can all help,” offered Afterburner. His brothers nodded.
“…You guys are really the best brothers ever,” chuckled Scattershot as tears welled up in his optics.